Cymbidium Orchids

It’s easy to see why orchids have their own fan club as Mel takes us into the exotic world of Cymbidium Orchids.

Mel’s favourite is the cascading cymbidiums, with incredible spikes of cascading flowers that hang from baskets.

The flowers can live anywhere from 4-12 weeks, which is a long time in the flower world. Even the cut flowers they can last for up to 3 weeks or so, so make sure you bring them indoors.

The range of colours the flowers come in is just outstanding: dark chocolate, snow white, yellow, gold, red and green.

So what’s the perfect condition for a cymbidium orchid? You need a warm, bright, airy spot. You need to make sure you protect them from hot sun, strong winds and frost. You can even place them underneath trees if the canopy isn’t too thick.

They have an heir of exotic beauty and mystery but that doesn’t mean they’re hard to grow. To get the best of your cymbidiums give them a dose of your fertiliser in the springtime and give them a good kick along with a liquid feed during the warmer months.

A happy, healthy plant will flower every year. A plant that’s 10 years old can produce as many as 10-20 flower spikes.